Beckham’s opposite field homer in the third inning, off Drew Hutchison, technically was his first of the spring, although he hit a monster shot to left against Team Colombia on Wednesday. The infielder, who is looking to secure a spot on the Opening Day roster, hit another deep fly out to left in the fifth, although it was knocked down by the wind. Thus far, Beckham has slashed .375 BA/.500 OBP/.813 SLG/1.313 OPS in 16 at-bats with seven runs and four RBI.

— Matt Andriese made his first start of the spring, allowing one run on two hits and two walks, while fanning three. He, however, had a tough time with his command throwing 28 of 44 pitches for strikes.

Andriese acknowledged that he couldn’t find his groove on the mound, although he is not too worried about the outcome:

I don’t really tend to walk people too often, so when I was walking some guys…just you know, I was feeling my mechanics a little bit, and nothing really to worry about, I’ve just got to get back out the next five days and do it again.

(Audio Credit: Rays Radio)

— Hunter Wood was the most impressive Rays’ hurler on Friday. Utilizing a good cutter with a 94 mph fastball, wood struck out three and retired all seven batters he faced.

— Rays ace Chris Archer made his World Baseball Classic debut, throwing an efficient 41 pitches (30 strikes) while slashing 4.0 IP/0 BB/0 R/3 K — hitting 97 mph multiple times in Team USA’s 3-2 walk-off win over Team Colombia. The right-hander complemented his heater with 15 off-speed pitches, almost solely his slider. Archer pounded the outside corners, mostly low and away, to a Colombian lineup that found him impossible to square up.

He was using his fastball slider combo and our hitters couldn’t hit him, said Team Columbia’s manager, Luis Urueta

Limited to a four inning/60 pitch limit (whichever came first), Archer left the game and threw a cool-down session in the bullpen.

It was tough. Looking in Jim Leyland’s eyes and telling him that I had to shut it down, it was tough, Archer said. But I’m obligated to the Tampa Bay Rays. We had a plan coming in. We knew that was a possibility. … I’m glad (Leyland) didn’t put too much pressure on me to stay in, but it was definitely tough.

He also conceded that he emotional before taking the mound.

There were four or five times pregame where I got chills, honestly. I was just looking at my arm and just like, I can’t believe this. Seeing my parents’ faces when I walked in, it was special. Giving high-fives to these guys, seeing the type of competitors they are, it was a special experience.

The New What Next

The Rays travel to Fort Myers on Saturday for a contest against the Red Sox. Alex Cobb will make his third start of the spring, opposite of Chris Sale. Also expected to pitch for Tampa Bay are Jacob Faria, Neil Wagner, Jeff Ames and Diego Moreno. Kevin Kiermaier, Evan Longoria and Steven Souza Jr. will also make the trip to Fort Myers.

Rays 3/11/17 Starting Lineup

Noteworthiness

— Tampa Bay claimed RHP Jumbo Diaz off waivers from the Reds on Friday. Diaz, who is currently playing in the WBC for the Dominican Republic, spent parts of the past three seasons in the big leagues, boasting a fastball that averages nearly 96 miles per hour (down from 98.2 in 2015). Nathan Eovaldi was placed on the 60-day DL to make room for Diaz on the 40-man roster.

The 33 year-old right-hander held opponents to a 3.14 ERA in 43 innings for Cincinnati last season, although he walked 10.4% of the batters he faced, and gave up 1.67 HR/9. His K% plummeted from 27.5 percent in 2015 to 20.3 percent last season, resulting in a 5.24 FIP. If Diaz can lower his BB/9, he could be a solid acquisition. More on him later.

Luke Maile gunned down Allen Hanson trying to steal second to end the top of first inning on Thursday. (Photo Credit: Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)

Blake Snell had a tough time finding his command, as the Tampa Bay Rays fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10–8.

Takeaways from Thursday’s ball game:

— Brad Miller, who got the start at short, drove in runs in every at-bat. In the first inning, Miller hit a sacrifice-fly to right to plate Logan Morrison. A groundout in the third again drove in Morrison, and an opposite bomb in the fifth (his first of the spring) gave Miller one run and three RBI on the day.

— Snell was limited to two innings and 49 total pitches due, in part, to an inefficient 37-pitch second. Snell allowed two runs on five hits and a walk, while striking out three.

The southpaw blamed his outing on a lack of command, saying,

…A lack of command, I’d say. I liked my changeup a lot today, so I kept throwing it. But yeah, I just need to command the zone better. I feel like I know what I need to do, and I’m looking forward to the next one.

(Audio Courtesy of Rays Radio)

Until he can nail down his command on a regular basis, he will be susceptible to outings like this.

— David Carpenter and LHP Justin Marks each threw two scoreless innings. Marks, a LOOGY candidate in the 2017 bullpen, has now made four spring appearances without allowing a run. He has given up just six hits total, has not allowed a walk, and fanned four. In the words of the inimitable Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), “Though he doesn’t have overpowering stuff, he could give the Rays a multi-inning option, with the potential to face a tough lefty when needed.”

— Maile gunned down Allen Hanson trying to steal second to end the top of first inning. As Topkin also pointed out, the catcher is making a strong bid for a catching job.

Maile finds himself in a three-way race (along with Curt Casali and Jesus Sucre) for the two catching spots with, one of which is temporary until Wilson Ramos returns from rehabilitation for knee surgery at some point after May. The backstop dropped weight and improved on what has already been called impressive work behind the plate.

The New What Next

The Rays visit the Pirates in Bradenton on Friday, with Matt Andriese taking the mound for the first time this spring. Drew Hutchison will toe the rubber for Pittsburgh. Also scheduled to pitch are Jaime Schultz, Ryne Stanek, Chih-Wei Hu and Hunter Wood. Steven Souza Jr., Nick Franklin, Tim Beckham and Curt Casali are scheduled to make the trip too.

Corey Dickerson hit his second homer of the spring on Tuesday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Despite an offensive onslaught from Willy Adames, and a solid one-run effort by Jake Odorizzi, the Tampa Bay Rays fell 7-6 in extras on Tuesday.

Takeaways from Tuesday’s ball game:

— Odorizzi’s slider is coming along. The right-hander told the media following his appearance that felt he made progress with his slider, a pitch of emphasis for him during Spring Training.

Odorizzi threw off speed pitches in counts he otherwise would not if it were the regular season, and got some good reactions to them. He went two innings and and threw 48 pitches (32 strikes), while allowing just a run on five hits while fanning four.

(Audio Courtesy of Rays Radio)

— Adames homered and later drove in a run. The Rays top prospect hit a line-drive homer to left in the fifth inning against Adam Warren to get Tampa Bay on the board, then later hit a bases-loaded opposite field sacrifice-fly to right for a one-run lead.

Not to be outdone, Corey Dickerson followed Adames’ long ball with an opposite field homer to left, his second of the spring.

The amusing aspect of the dynamic duo’s back-to-back tandem of homers: they came while Yankees’ manager, Joe Girardi, was bring interviewed by the Yes Network.

Dontcha just hate when you’re trying to have a nice conversation and rude people won’t stop hitting home runs? pic.twitter.com/XISacDXZeR

— Rays skipper Kevin Cash was enthused by the performances of Adames, Williams, Odorizzi and Yarbrough:

(Audio Courtesy of Rays Radio)

The New What Next

Chase Whitley will get the start in an exhibition game between the Rays and Team Colombia, Wednesday evening, in Port Charlotte. Erasmo Ramirez, Xavier Cedeno and Jose de Leon are also slated to throw for Tampa Bay.

Per Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) Logan Morrison is expected to play for the Rays, his first appearance this spring since having September wrist surgery. Morrison is likely to DH today and play the field later in the week.

That leaves three players who’ve yet to appear in a game: Brad Boxberger, Matt Duffy and Colby Rasmus.

Rays 3/8/17 Starting Lineup:

Noteworthiness

— It was announced Tuesday that Rays ace, Chris Archer, will throw the first pitch for Team USA in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Archer told MLB.com he envisioned himself as a member of team USA since the original World Baseball Classic run in 2006 — when he was a high school.

I volunteered my services over 10 years ago, whenever it started, Archer said. I knew from that minute on I wanted to be a part of something special. … My favorite players were playing — (Derek) Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens … at that time they were all peaking, they were in their prime. I was glued in. I was locked in. To be considered one of the best in the country, like those guys were, it’s the highest honor I’ve achieved in my baseball career.

— Per Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), the progress on Matt Duffy’s heel has been a little slow, and the target to start playing in Spring Training games has been pushed back from mid-March. A possibility remains this setback could impact Opening Day.

Jamie Schultz is making a solid bid to be a part of the 2017 bullpen, by notching nine strikeouts already this spring. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays, coming off a come from behind 5-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, earned a much needed off-day from Grapefruit League action on Monday.

Takeaways from Sunday’s ball game:

— Making his second outing of the spring, right-hander Alex Cobb was efficient for the Rays over his three innings on the mound, allowing just a single run.

Cobb threw 23 of 37 pitches for strikes, and his fastball velocity ranged from 90 to 93 miles per hour. He allowed three hits and no walks, while striking out one. One of the only negatives on the day came in the second inning, when Cobb allowed Jose Bautista to swipe third base completely unchecked. A few pitches later, former Ray Steve Pearce plated Bautista on a sacrifice-fly to left.

Ever the perfectionist, Cobb explained that in his mind, his performance wasn’t as good as his line may have suggested. As Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) noted in his most recent post for The Heater blog, Cobb has unorthodox mechanics to begin with and is trying to rediscover the proper feel without knowing whether he is off as part of his ongoing return from May 2015 Tommy John surgery, or because he is just going through the normal spring training ups and downs.

It’s a complete feel/mindset type of thing, Cobb Said. Micro-fractions of inches here or there change everything down at home plate. … Obviously it’s taken a little longer than I wish.

(Audio Courtesy of Rays Radio)

— Jamie Schultz is making a legitimate bid to be a part of the 2017 bullpen. The right-hander, who now has punched out nine batters this spring, entered the game in the eighth inning and fanned the side on 11 pitches (10 strikes). His fastball hit 98 miles per hour multiple times. Schultz has been a starter throughout his minor league career, although he told Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) he feels comfortable relieving.

(Audio Courtesy of Rays Radio)

Rays manager Kevin Cash was impressed by Schultz’s ability to punch out three batters (all looking) with a power fastball and a pair of strike three sliders.

(Audio Courtesy of Rays Radio)

— Also making a bid for the Opening Day roster is left-hander Justin Marks. Topkin writes that the need for another left-handed reliever could be alleviated with the promotion on Marks.

With Xavier Cedeno the only lefty assured of a job in the bullpen the Rays are looking for another and Marks, who made a September cameo last year, could pitch his way into the conversation, writes Topkin. Sunday was his third outing, and he has yet to allow a run or a walk in 3 2/3 innings, with four hits. The only other candidate in camp is veteran LHP Dana Eveland, whom the Rays had last year, though they are also looking outside.

— Topkin also wrote about Brad Miller’s seeming easy transition to second base, saying:

I’ll reserve the right to say differently later, but Brad Miller has looked like he’ll handle the move to second base well. Miller has been working hard in drills, and to this point looks like he has the positioning down and can handle the move – from short via first. Snaring a line drive in the first inning and turning a double play to end the third inning Sunday were the latest examples. “It’s different, definitely it’s a different position,” he said. “But I’m trying to keep it as simple as possible and make sure I’m practicing the right way so that in the game it happens.”

Noteworthiness

— According to Jim Bowden (ESPN Baseball Analyst), the Royals, Jays, Mets and Rays are among the teams that have interest in Brett Lawrie according to sources.

— The transition to a new playing surface continues at Tropicana Field.

In his first game of the spring, Mallex Smith dropped a textbook bunt down the third base line to load the bases during 5-2 victory over the Tigers. (Photo Credit: Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)

After falling to the Red Sox on Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays (5-2-1) returned to the winning side of the ledger Friday, defeating the Detroit Tigers 5-2. Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough was impressive in his first start in a Rays uniform, Rickie Weeks continued to rake at the plate, and Mallex Smith made his debut with Tampa Bay — filling in for the ailing Kevin Kiermaier.

Some takeaways from Friday’s ball game:

— Yarbrough carved his way through the Tigers’ lineup, fanning five over two perfect frames, and throwing 20 of his 25 pitches for strikes. Rays skipper Kevin Cash called the start impressive:

He set the tone early. You know, he even got a lot of compliments from the home plate umpire Brian O’Nora …saying who is that guy? He worked quick, (was) efficient, had late action to his pitches so that was good to see. I know his first outing probably didn’t go as well as he liked, but it was nice to see him get a start and really just pound the strike zone.

(Audio courtesy of Rays Radio)

— Not to be outdone, the rest of the Rays pitching staff struck out 15 batters, and walked just one.

Two hurlers (among others) that are being slow-tracked early in spring, Xavier Cedeño and Alex Colome, took the mound, and each pitched a perfect frames their spring debuts. Colome struck out two.

Cedeño didn’t pitch the final month of the season because of a sore neck. He told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) it felt strange because of the layoff, although you would never know it based on his performance yesterday afternoon.

They’re just so efficient, manager Kevin Cash said. Sometimes they make it look easy out there, and it’s not. They command the ball really well, and they get guys to expand because they command the ball so well.

Jose Alvarado, David Carpenter, and Chih-Wei Hu also held the Tigers scoreless, with Hu working two frames. In his first appearance with Tampa Bay, Shawn Tolleson allowed a pair of two-out runs in the third on a broken-bat two-run double by Nicholas Castellanos.

— Rickie Weeks, who is trying to hit his way onto the team, doubled twice in as many at-bats. His line after five games: 7-10 with three doubles, two homers, six RBI, six runs, 16 total bases, a 1.600 SLG and a .700 OBP.

Weeks does not consider himself locked in, and is enjoying his first week on the field:

(Audio courtesy of Rays Radio)

Weeks, a second baseman for most of his big league career, told the media he is learning how to play first base this spring.

I played the infield for a long time, he said. (Fielding) ground ball’s nothing. Just learning positioning. Just be in the right spot. That’s the main thing for me.

— OF Mallex Smith made his spring debut a day early because of the stiff neck that has kept CF Kevin Kiermaier out of the lineup.

And though he he made a defensive gaffe center field in the first inning, the speedy Smith dropped a perfect bunt down the third base line in the second.

I love bunting, said Smith. I feel like it’s a lost art. I feel like I’m going to bring it to the table a lot. …It feels good because for the longest (time), that’s all I’ve been able to work on since I’ve been in camp. So to be able to go and execute right away is wonderful. It feels like hard work paying off.

Cash agreed.

The bunt was awesome. It was awesome to see a guy come in, do that and we got to watch him work on his craft for two weeks. He puts a lot of time and effort to it and, sure enough, he comes up and gets a first-situation opportunity. That was completely on his own. It’s good to get him out there. Now, we’ll start ramping him up probably on an every-other-day basis, as long as he’s good to go.

Adding,

The glimpses of shagging fly balls and stuff, you can tell he’s got pretty elite speed. He’s got a pretty defined approach during batting practice. I’m interested to see how that that works in the game, but he really focuses on looks, staying the other way, hitting the ball on the ground and utilizing his speed. So if that’s him, that’s interesting in the fact that we don’t really have that guy. He could be something interesting.

As for the error, Smith took full responsibility, and didn’t blame the gusty/windy playing conditions.

You know what, the wind didn’t play any part of me dropping the ball. I dropped the ball. But, it did make it fade a little bit on me. … But I dropped the ball. I was right up under it, it hit me in the glove. That should always be caught.

The New What Next

The Rays will face the Baltimore Orioles for the first time this spring this afternoon. Chris Archer will make his final tuneup before the World Baseball Classic. The right-hander is expected to throw three innings or 45 pitches, whichever comes first. Blake Snell, Tommy Hunter, Danny Farquhar and Dana Eveland are also expected to toe the rubber for Tampa Bay.

Rays 3/4/17 Starting Lineup

Noteworthiness

— Per Neil Solondz (Rays Radio), Evan Longoria originally was listed as the DH, but is now on the travel squad to play Sunday in Dunedin, and Tuesday in Tampa. Daniel Robertson is playing shortstop after Willy Adames initially was listed to play back to back days.